Super sophomores are boosting Geneseo

Despite losing in the semifinals of the 2017 SUNYAC tournament, despite graduating its two-time All-American forward, the Geneseo men’s hockey team was picked to finish first in the SUNYAC preseason poll.

A big reason for that optimism from opposing coaches is the stable of talented sophomore forwards stepping up at Geneseo.

“They’re a very talented group; they did a great job last year, and they’re picking right off. They’re our best players, and they do things the right way,” coach Chris Schultz said. “These sophomores, they play the game the right way, and it’s contagious. When your best goal scorers are doing the right things defensively, it goes a long way and makes coaching easier.”

The Knights entered the 2017-18 season without Stephen Collins, a first-team All-America selection in 2015 and 2016 and the team’s leading scorer the previous two seasons. They also graduated Trevor Hills, who scored 35 goals over the past two seasons.

Last season, the Knights finished third in the nation in scoring offense (4.63 goals per game). Through nine games, Geneseo isn’t too far off it’s pace, averaging 4.33 goals per game. A big reason for that success is the role of the numerous sophomore forwards on the roster.

Three of the team’s top goal scorers — Conlan Keenan, Andrew Romano and Tyson Empey — are sophomores, and six of the team’s top 10 scorers are in the same class, with David Szmyd, Erik Pederson and Devin Brink chipping in.

“It’s awesome to see. Having all those guys, we push each other on and off the ice,” said Keenan (Penfield, N.Y.). “It’s everybody. Iron sharpens iron. Having everyone come every day to compete. We’re not going to be soft with each other. Our class, juniors, seniors, freshmen, everyone is going to compete to be in the lineup, and we all want to make each other better.”

Keenan is the team’s leading scorer through nine games with eight goals and seven assists. Last year’s SUNYAC Rookie of the Year also is tied for the conference lead in points (15).

Schultz praised the work Keenan put in over the offseason.

“He trained with Stephen Collins over the summer,” Schultz said. “They did a great job elevating his game even more. Skill development is a great thing, working on your edges and your stride. A lot of times your Rookie of the Year doesn’t perform like he did when he’s a sophomore. We’re benefiting from the work he put in over the summer. The other thing is he’s an assistant captain already as a sophomore. He’s the first sophomore. That gives you an idea of what the upperclassmen think about him.”

Keenan explained his attitude coming into the new season.

“I go in each year the same, starting at zero,” he said. “Last year, all the awards, it doesn’t matter. I wanted to have the same mark and have a better impact and be a better team player and make everyone better around me.”

Right behind Keenan and his 35 points in 2016-17 was Szmyd (Elmwood Park, N.J.), who scored 11 goals to go with 19 assists.

Unlike Keenan, however, Szmyd struggled to start the season. Through the first six games of the season, Szmyd failed to find the back of the net.

“It was a little frustrating,” Szmyd admitted. “I set the bar a little too high coming into the year. I had a strong season last year. This year, I thought I would do just as well and didn’t have a strong start and was trying to do too much. Last few games, I tried to simplify my game, put the puck to the net, and see how it goes. Shoot as much as I can.”

Szmyd finally broke through in the seventh game of the season, scoring two goals in a 5-1 victory over Morrisville.

“It was only a matter of time with him,” Schultz said. “He’s such a dynamic player. He’s probably the fastest player in our league. He has a tremendous skill level. He’s a power-play guy. We’re trying to get him on the penalty kill, too. He got off to a rough start. We were trying different line combinations. We were able to figure something out with his line combination this past week. He’s playing with (junior) Anthony Marra and (Dan) Bosio, our freshman. They complemented each other well. Line chemistry had a lot to do with it.”

Geneseo started the season strong, opening with a 7-2 record, including a 4-1 victory over Plattsburgh. The team climbed to fourth in the nation in the USCHO.com rankings. The Knights also rank first in the conference with a 5-1 record (10 points) and in addition to having the highest goals per game average, they also own the best goals-against average in the conference (1.89).

Szmyd credited the team’s success to a well-rounded approach to the game.

“We’re playing more as a team,” he said. “We don’t have individuals. We have a deep team. We have the defensemen going every night. Our goalie is playing tremendously well. It makes it that much easier when your goalie is playing well.”

Geneseo still has the majority of its schedule remaining to navigate, including multiple meetings with rival Oswego.

The early returns, on both the season and the sophomore forwards, is a favorable one, though.

“We gave them the day off for Thanksgiving and we practiced (Friday),” Schultz said. “We put them through a physical practice even though we play (Saturday). I was figuring guys to question why we were practicing that way. We did a lot of hitting and battling and competition. The first person to step up and compete was Keenan. Him, Szmyd, Romano were all saying, ‘This is what Coach wants us to do. Let’s do it.’

“If you have guys like that, you’ll win a lot of games.”